PS4 some basics for a new owner

[levcore]

Hello All, I apologise for starting a thread like this but i'd be grateful for some advice from experienced PS4 owners. I got my first Playstation console yesterday, a 1TB PS4, i've only had Xbox 360 before, Dreamcast before that, then Nintendo before that. I have some questions just to get me up to speed on a few basics and things that are probably quite obvious to most of you!

I'm in the UK btw.

The charging cable for the controller is very short, what is the best replacement for this at a reasonable price so i can sit on my sofa while it charges? At the moment i have to sit on a stool right in front of the screen lol.

How do i tell when the controller is fully charged? It keeps changing from a blue light, to a green light, sometimes it's a white light (on the back of the controller i mean).

Is it OK to leave discs in overnight/ when i turn it off?

At night should i turn of the console completely or leave it in rest mode? I tend to unplug all my electronics at night so my natural urge would be to turn it off completely anyway but obviously in rest mode it can download stuff still and slo charge the controller.

What is the deal with that square pad in the centre of the controller? Sorry if this is a daft question but when setting up the console i found i could use it as a sort of keyboard. Yet in Last of Us it opens up your inventory for example. I guess it's just a big button/ touch screen pad?

How easy is it to download from the Playstation store? Just enter my payment details and off i go? I really want to download the Vanishing of Ethan Carter.

Many thanks for any help, i'm such a newbie with this console and it has so many features, it's all a bit bewildering at first! Especially not having owned a Playstation before.

[Blu-Benny]

To overcome the short charging cord problem…..i bought a 2nd controller and a stand alone charging dock. My ps3 started acting stupid and wouldn’t charge the controller while I was playing and had it plugged in. that way you can always have a fully charged controller and not be dependent on a cord.

not the cheapest route.....but is a better option in my opinion.

I’ve had a disc in my console since the day I turned it on…..no problems.

I leave mine in rest mode for the reason you listed…..so it can download updates as they are relased.

The square pad had different functions depending on the game you’re playing. In Assassin’s Creed it opens up your map. In Destiny it opens up your options to go to orbit among other things.

Once you enter your payment info into the psstore…..downloading is literally as easy as hitting a button and confirming a purchase.

[levcore]

Originally Posted by Blu-Benny

To overcome the short charging cord problem…..i bought a 2nd controller and a stand alone charging dock. My ps3 started acting stupid and wouldn’t charge the controller while I was playing and had it plugged in. that way you can always have a fully charged controller and not be dependent on a cord.

not the cheapest route.....but is a better option in my opinion.

I’ve had a disc in my console since the day I turned it on…..no problems.

I leave mine in rest mode for the reason you listed…..so it can download updates as they are relased.

The square pad had different functions depending on the game you’re playing. In Assassin’s Creed it opens up your map. In Destiny it opens up your options to go to orbit among other things.

Once you enter your payment info into the psstore…..downloading is literally as easy as hitting a button and confirming a purchase.

Great thanks for your response Benny. I will definitely need a longer charging cable, that is my main bugbear at the moment as i literally cannot sit on my sofa and play with the cable plugged in, it's so short. A standalone charging dock though sounds like a great idea, i will look into that.

[Blu-Benny]

Originally Posted by levcore

Great thanks for your response Benny. I will definitely need a longer charging cable, that is my main bugbear at the moment as i literally cannot sit on my sofa and play with the cable plugged in, it's so short. A standalone charging dock though sounds like a great idea, i will look into that.

i've been meaning to pick up a longer cable as well....but for my gold headset.....the connection on the headset and the controller is the same......so you know how short that cable it comes with is.....imagine having that plugged into a headset while playing!!

[Casey]

i have 3 controllers so there are always 2 on the charging cradle. i dont think i've ever played with a controller plugged in. if you just have 1, then charge it whenever you're not playing.

[levcore]

Thanks guys but how do i tell when it is absolutely fully charged? What light does it display on the controller? If i had an initial niggle it's that when i play with the lights off, i can see the light on the back of the controller reflected in the tv screen!

[Derb]

Originally Posted by levcore

Thanks guys but how do i tell when it is absolutely fully charged? What light does it display on the controller? If i had an initial niggle it's that when i play with the lights off, i can see the light on the back of the controller reflected in the tv screen!

That light while plugged in by USB flashes an orange color to indicate it's charging when you are not playing a game. I believe the light goes off when fully charged.

While you are playing a game, the light represents what the game shows you, not the battery charge. To see what the charge level is at, you have to unplug the USB cable then press the little black PS button below the touchpad in one of two ways,

- If in game, press PS button (Takes you to home screen) & look at top left icon.
- At anytime, press hold the PS button for 2 seconds. Bottom right of the screen you will see the battery charge.

The controller shows a 3 bar status of charge level. (Xbox shows 4 bars by comparison)

[Blu-Benny]

Originally Posted by levcore

Thanks guys but how do i tell when it is absolutely fully charged? What light does it display on the controller? If i had an initial niggle it's that when i play with the lights off, i can see the light on the back of the controller reflected in the tv screen!

when you use a charging station, it lights up yellow/orange. then turns off when it's done charging.

not sure if it does the same if it's plugged in w/the cord.....i used to charge mine w/the cord while the ps4 was in rest mode. can't remember if it did the same thing or lit up white when it was done charging.

if you hit the P button in the middle of the controller, it should pop a display up in the left hand corner. if it's charging, the display for the controller will be blinking.

[SDG]

If your sitting away from the console; you can charge the controller from a standard USB power supply connected to a wall receptacle. (like your phone charger).

[partridge]

I use a standard Android phone charge cable to charge my pads. I must say, so far I've never run out of charge even on a lengthy game session, but after a decent amount of gaming I always plug it in overnight. The battery is pretty good.

I often leave discs inside, I can't see it making much of a difference to the console. Do remember to power it off completely if you're going to unplug it for any reason.

the big rectangle on the pad is a touch pad, some games use it, some don't. You will also see a little speaker under that, again, some games use it some don't. You can adjust the volume of it by long pressing the PS button and choosing adjust devices.

Easiest way to buy PSN goods, personally, is to buy a PSN voucher, which you can also get electronically through Amazon. That way you don't need to put your bank details on it. Purchasing is very straightforward and you get a couple of cancel points before you commit. Go to the Store and near the bottom is a Redeem option, all codes go in here, PSN vouchers, game codes, etc.

[un4gvn94538]

The pad is used for a variety of things. It depends on the game.

If your going o get a charging dock, I highly recommend the official Playstation charging dock which is unfortunately only released in Japan. I bought one off of amazon and it wasn't expensive.

[RageATL]

Good thread as I also just took ownership of my Uncharted PS4 bundle yesterday.

I know for my PS3, I just picked up an extra mini-USB charging cable so I always had one charging while I used the other. I plan on doing the same thing again for my PS4.

Personally, I ALWAYS remove discs when done playing/watching a movie for fear it's gonna do something to the laser. I have no proof it does, probably just OCD.

Originally Posted by SDG

If your sitting away from the console; you can charge the controller from a standard USB power supply connected to a wall receptacle. (like your phone charger).

Not to mention I bet it charges way faster from an AC outlet.

[Derb]

I was OCD with controller chargers until I found this from members here... Almost 2 years ago... I've been & still am using this. Here is the UK one,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/2X-Conductiv...=Energizer+ps4

Do yourself a favor & pick this up with an extra controller & you never have to worry about gaming wirelessly again.

[Wraithform]

Not sure if it has already been mentioned, but you can also buy USB extender cables, which come in handy for multiple devices/uses.

[Goodintentions]

Originally Posted by RageATL

Personally, I ALWAYS remove discs when done playing/watching a movie for fear it's gonna do something to the laser. I have no proof it does, probably just OCD.

so destroy the loading mechanism instead

[Harry Güchenschlong]

Originally Posted by Wraithform

Not sure if it has already been mentioned, but you can also buy USB extender cables, which come in handy for multiple devices/uses.

That's what I did. Bought a 15' usb cord which I actually keep connected most of the time anyway to be honest.

[RageATL]

Originally Posted by Goodintentions

so destroy the loading mechanism instead

Well played.

During my time with GTA V on the PS3, I'd just leave it on (and the TV off) since I gained rent money from my properties while I was sleeping.

[levcore]

Originally Posted by SDG

If your sitting away from the console; you can charge the controller from a standard USB power supply connected to a wall receptacle. (like your phone charger).

Great! This is very handy to know as i game on my sofa with my laptop nearby so i have just plugged the controller into there and voila!

Originally Posted by partridge

I use a standard Android phone charge cable to charge my pads. I must say, so far I've never run out of charge even on a lengthy game session, but after a decent amount of gaming I always plug it in overnight. The battery is pretty good.

I often leave discs inside, I can't see it making much of a difference to the console. Do remember to power it off completely if you're going to unplug it for any reason.

the big rectangle on the pad is a touch pad, some games use it, some don't. You will also see a little speaker under that, again, some games use it some don't. You can adjust the volume of it by long pressing the PS button and choosing adjust devices.

Easiest way to buy PSN goods, personally, is to buy a PSN voucher, which you can also get electronically through Amazon. That way you don't need to put your bank details on it. Purchasing is very straightforward and you get a couple of cancel points before you commit. Go to the Store and near the bottom is a Redeem option, all codes go in here, PSN vouchers, game codes, etc.

Thanks for the tip about getting a voucher from Amazon i think i'll do that as i don't have to enter card details through the PS4, much simpler from the sound of it.

Thanks for the tip about using an android charge cable, i just need to find a long one somewhere! All my android cables are sadly the same length as the PS4 controller cable.

Originally Posted by Derb

I was OCD with controller chargers until I found this from members here... Almost 2 years ago... I've been & still am using this. Here is the UK one,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/2X-Conductiv...=Energizer+ps4

Do yourself a favor & pick this up with an extra controller & you never have to worry about gaming wirelessly again.

Excellent, i'll look into this, many thanks. I definitely want to get another pad anyway so i can charge one and play on one like you all advise.

Originally Posted by Wraithform

Not sure if it has already been mentioned, but you can also buy USB extender cables, which come in handy for multiple devices/uses.

Yes this is something i think i need, i nice long USB cable.

[levcore]

Originally Posted by Blu-Benny

i've been meaning to pick up a longer cable as well....but for my gold headset.....the connection on the headset and the controller is the same......so you know how short that cable it comes with is.....imagine having that plugged into a headset while playing!!

Ha ha yeah i want to get some headphones and don't want to encounter a similar problem. I guess my next question is which headphones are recommended without spending an absolute fortune? I see these Turtle Beach ones on Amazon a lot for around £50.

[levcore]

Originally Posted by RageATL

Good thread as I also just took ownership of my Uncharted PS4 bundle yesterday.

I know for my PS3, I just picked up an extra mini-USB charging cable so I always had one charging while I used the other. I plan on doing the same thing again for my PS4.

Personally, I ALWAYS remove discs when done playing/watching a movie for fear it's gonna do something to the laser. I have no proof it does, probably just OCD.



Not to mention I bet it charges way faster from an AC outlet.

i got mine in Black Friday, i guess it's the same for you dude?